Claudio Ranieri has insisted his feud with José Mourinho belongs to the past, with the Leicester City manager describing the enmity that once existed between the two as “prehistoric” and saying he would happily share a glass of wine with his opposite number after Saturday’s Premier League match at Old Trafford.
Although Ranieri talked about wanting to get revenge for Leicester’s defeat at the hands of Manchester United in the Community Shield in August, the 64-year-old was keen to stress that he and Mourinho have moved on from the bitter war of words that characterised their relationship at one time, especially during the period when they were working in Italy and some of the remarks became personal.
Highlighting how things have changed, Ranieri described Mourinho as a “fantastic person”, named the 53-year-old when asked to single out the most influential player at Old Trafford and, drawing on his own experience, suggested that the United manager’s controversial decision to single out Luke Shaw for criticism following defeat at Watford last Sunday may have been intended to motivate the left‑back.
More than anything, though, Ranieri gave the impression that any bad blood is in the past. “I love red wine, and if he offers I will go and drink it with him,” the Leicester manager said.
Some of the barbs exchanged in years gone by have been particularly disparaging, with Mourinho claiming that he replaced Ranieri as manager at Chelsea in 2004 because the Italian was considered a “loser”. The Manchester United manager also ridiculed Ranieri’s command of English and, in 2008, described him as having “the mentality of someone who doesn’t need to win”. Ranieri had previously said: “I am not like Mourinho. I don’t have to win to be sure of myself.”
On the pitch the tables were turned last season, when Ranieri led Leicester to the Premier League title and oversaw the 2-1 victory against Chelsea in December that culminated in Mourinho being sacked the following day. Although they have since crossed paths in the Community Shield, when United won 2-1, this will be the first time the two men have gone head to head in the Premier League since that game at the King Power Stadium.
Asked about how his relationship with Mourinho is these days, Ranieri said it was “very good” and that there were “no problems”, with mention of the history between the two of them prompting a dismissive response. “Yes but it’s prehistoric,” Ranieri said. “It was a long time ago. It’s normal [now]. He is a great manager, intelligent and a fantastic person. Do you remember in the summer when we had the Soccer Aid? I managed the Rest of the World team against José’s English side.”
Mourinho actually stepped down from managing the England side just before that game, although he did turn up for one of the training sessions in the lead-up and was pictured embracing Ranieri. He also paid tribute to the Leicester manager after their title success last season, when he said: “It is with incredible emotion that I live this magic moment in his career.”
Although United are two points ahead of Leicester in the table, they have lost their past two league matches and Mourinho’s methods have come under scrutiny after he pointed the finger at Shaw for his defending in the lead-up to Watford’s second goal at Vicarage Road.
Yet Ranieri claimed he had done similar things at previous clubs. “Every manager has his [rule] book and sometimes you need to do this,” he said. “Sometimes, maybe not here, but at another team, also I push to provoke the reaction of the player. There’s always a psychology.”
